Gordon Ramsay Opening A Restaurant In Atlantic City, But Hasn’t A.C. Suffered Enough?


Quick. If you were going to come up with the worst restaurant concept you possibly could, what would it be?

Was it “classic British pub fare with unique New Jersey twists”?

Well it fucking should’ve been.

Ok, so here’s the deal. Atlantic City? Not doing so well. We’ve got casinos closing and casinos threatening to close. Revel is about to be turned into some kind of Floridian retirement resort (or whatever) after a developer threw the place an all-cash life preserver of $90 million. And the city is already suffering through an occupation by Guy Fieri, who opened his latest Donkey Sauce emporium at Bally’s.

But now, as if this summer hasn’t already had enough bad news for that embattled shore town, we hear that shouty British celebrity chef and professional curse-word enthusiast Gordon Ramsay is looking at opening an outlet of his Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars. And according to the press, the concept is, as stated above, British pub food with a bit of a Jersey spin.

“The menu at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars will be comprised of items consistent with British pub fare. Classic British favorites such as bangers and mash, fish and chips and roasted chicken, as well as some of Ramsay’s favorites like London broil prepared on a wood-burning grill, will all be part of a rustic menu that will change seasonally. Paying homage to a true pub, the new restaurant will feature a wide selection of craft and microbrews from around the world, offering beer enthusiasts more than 30 beers on tap.”

The “New Jersey twists” will, I assume, be welded on later. Like maybe he’ll just add ranch dressing and body glitter to all the plates.

The restaurant itself will be 250 seats, with walls full of glued-on “pop culture relics from both England and the United States” like some kind of international TGI Friday’s. There’ll be old-timey British telephone booths (because that never gets old) and a patio that extends right out onto the casino floor so, presumably, grandma won’t even have to stop playing the slots while she shovels bangers and mash topped with Jersey sweet corn and little American flags into herself.

Seriously, though? While Ramsay has had another Pub & Grill at Caesars in Vegas for some time, and also operates in such classy locations as Planet Hollywood (where he has a Gordon Ramsay BurGR–because, apparently, he hates all vowels that don’t appear in his name), he has also been stripped of Michelin stars and closed 10 restaurants since 2009. His empire, while large, is not precisely flourishing. Though maybe all that time spent closing places will just turn out to be excellent practice for running a restaurant in A.C..

Caesars [Official]